Charging apparatus and vehicle

ABSTRACT

Provided are a charging device and a vehicle capable of reducing the amount of noise flowing into a quick-charging facility. The pair of charging lines connecting the quick-charging facility ( 20 ) to an onboard battery ( 30 ) are referred to as quick-charging lines, and each of these quick-charging lines is provided with a relay ( 16 - 1, 16 - 2 ). Each relay ( 16 - 1, 16 - 2 ) is used to switch the current flowing in the respective quick-charging line on and off, the current being switched on during quick-charge and being switched off during normal charging. Each quick-charging line has a Y-capacitor ( 17 ) connected thereto closer to a QC port ( 15 ) than the respective relay ( 16 - 1, 16 - 2 ).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/897,087 filed on Dec. 9, 2015, which claims the benefit of JapanesePatent Application No. 2013-122988 filed Jun. 11, 2013, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an onboard charging apparatus and avehicle that are quickly charged by a quick-charging system providedoutside a vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, automobiles that run on electricity, such as an ElectricVehicle (EV), and a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) (hereinafter,referred to simply as “vehicles”) have gradually become popular. Suchvehicles are equipped with a large-capacity storage battery, and storein the storage battery electric energy charged from the outside and runusing the stored electric energy

As a method for supplying electric power to a vehicle storage batteryfrom the outside, a method is available in which a charger installed ina vehicle receives the supply of alternating-current (AC) power from a100V AC power source used in ordinary households and converts the ACpower to direct-current (DC) power to charge a storage battery. Thismethod requires a noise-eliminating device for eliminating noise, inorder to prevent the inflow of noise into the AC power source. Acharging apparatus having such a noise-eliminating device is disclosed,for example, in Patent Literature (hereinafter, referred to as “PTL”) 1.

PTL 1 discloses a charging apparatus including a switch in anintermediate grounding conductor that connects, to the ground, a groundside terminal of a Y capacitor that eliminates noise. The switch isconfigured to connect and disconnect the intermediate groundingconductor, and the charging apparatus disconnects the intermediategrounding conductor by controlling the switch when a security groundterminal is not connected to the ground. Thus, this switching preventsthe occurrence of a large potential difference between a vehicle bodyand the ground even when the intermediate ground conductor is notconnected to the ground sufficiently.

Meanwhile, as a method for supplying electric power to a vehicle storagebattery from the outside, another method is available in which aquick-charging system provided outside a vehicle directly supplies largeDC power to a storage battery.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature PTL 1 Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2009-240016 SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, the quick-charging line that connects the quick-charging systemto the storage battery is not provided with a noise countermeasure.Therefore, there is a problem in which, when a circuit such as a DC/DCconverter that operates using the storage battery as a power sourceundesirably starts operating during quick charging, noise may occur fromsuch a circuit and flow into the quick-charging system.

An object of the present invention is to provide a charging apparatusand a vehicle each reducing the amount of noise flowing into aquick-charging system.

Solution to Problem

The charging apparatus of the present invention has a configurationincluding: a quick-charging line having one end being connected to aline between a battery and a component which becomes a noise source whenthe component operates during quick charging to the battery, and havingthe other end being connected to an input side of quick charging; and afirst noise filter that is disposed on the quick-charging line andeliminates noise.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amountof noise flowing into a quick-charging system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a charging apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the drawing.

Embodiment <Configuration of Charging Apparatus>

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of charging apparatus 1according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, theconfiguration of charging apparatus 1 will be described with the aid ofFIG. 1. FIG. 1 also illustrates, in addition to charging apparatus 1,100 V AC power source 10 used in ordinary households, quick-chargingsystem 20 that is provided outside a vehicle and supplies large DC power(e.g., 300 V), and onboard battery 30 that is a storage battery such asa lithium-ion battery. Charging apparatus 1 is equipped on vehicles suchas an EV having onboard battery 30, and charges onboard battery 30utilizing power from AC power source 10 or quick-charging system 20.

AC/DC converter 13 including bridge circuit 11, transformer 12, and aswitching circuit (not illustrated) or the like converts AC powersupplied from AC power source 10 to DC power, and onboard battery 30 ischarged.

A pair of charging lines connecting AC power source 10 to bridge circuit11 is referred to as normal charging lines, and Y capacitors 14 areconnected to the normal charging lines, respectively. Y capacitors 14are grounded to the body ground at a neutral point and reduce noise thatflows into AC power source 10 from AC/DC converter 13 to a certaincurrent value or lower and causes the noise to flow to the body ground.

QC port 15 is a connector capable of detachably connectingquick-charging system 20 to charging apparatus 1.

A pair of charging lines each having one end being connected to a linethat connects onboard battery 30 to DC/DC converter 18, and airconditioning compressor 19, and/or the like to be described hereinafter,and the other end being connected to QC port 15 is referred to as aquick-charging line, and the respective quick-charging lines areprovided with relays 16-1 and 16-2. Relays 16-1 and 16-2 switch on andoff the current flowing through the quick-charging line. Relays 16-1 and16-2 switch the current on during quick charging, and switch the currentoff during normal charging.

Further, Y capacitors 17 are connected respectively to thequick-charging lines on QC port 15 side (input side of quick charging)with respect to relays 16-1 and 16-2 of the respective quick-charginglines. Y capacitor 17 is connected to the body ground at a neutral pointand reduces noise from DC/DC converter 18 and air-conditioningcompressor 19 to be described hereinafter to a certain current value orlower and causes the noise to flow to the body ground.

DC/DC converter 18 lowers DC power supplied from onboard battery 30 toabout 14 V, for example, and supplies the power to electric componentsof the vehicle. Further, air-conditioning compressor 19 uses the DCpower supplied from onboard battery 30 to compress a refrigerant for airconditioning. It is noted that DC/DC converter 18 and air-conditioningcompressor 19 become a noise source that generates noise, when theyoperate during quick charging.

Onboard battery 30 is charged by AC power source 10 or quick-chargingsystem 20, and supplies the charged power to DC/DC converter 18,air-conditioning compressor 19, and an inverter (not illustrated) or thelike.

In this manner, charging apparatus 1 connects Y capacitors 17 to thequick-charging lines. Thus, even when DC/DC converter 18, andair-conditioning compressor 19, and/or the like operate during quickcharging, the amount of noise flowing into quick-charging system 20 canbe reduced by causing the noise generated from these circuits to flow tothe body ground through Y capacitor s.

<Y Capacitors for Quick Charging>

Here, Y capacitors 17 will be described.

When Y capacitors 17 are provided on onboard battery 30 side withrespect to relays 16-1 and 16-2, the total electrostatic capacitance ofY capacitors 17 and Y capacitors 14 for normal charging increases, whichcauses a current flowing through the vehicle body to increase duringnormal charging, thus undesirably increasing the possibility of anelectric shock.

Under such circumstances, the present invention provides Y capacitors 17on QC port 15 side with respect to relays 16-1 and 16-2 of thequick-charging lines, as described above, to thereby prevent the inflowof noise into Y capacitors 17 during normal charging. Thus, it becomespossible to avoid the increase of the total electrostatic capacitance ofthe Y capacitors, thereby avoiding the possibility of an electric shock.

It is noted that, since transformer 12 is isolated during quickcharging, no noise flows into Y capacitors 14. Further, there is astandard which requires that a leakage current from a Y capacitor shouldbe 3.5 mA or lower (IEC 61851), and thus, the electrostatic capacitanceof a Y capacitor needs to be 35.16 nF or lower due to this requirement.

Effects of Embodiment

Thus, according to the present embodiment, connecting Y capacitors 17 tothe quick-charging lines that connects quick-charging system 20 toonboard battery 30 makes it possible to reduce the amount of noiseflowing into quick-charging system 20 by causing the noise generatedfrom noise sources such as DC/DC converter 18, and air-conditioningcompressor 19 and/or the like to flow to the body ground through Ycapacitors 17, even when these noise sources operate during quickcharging.

Further, according to the present embodiment, disposing Y capacitors 17on QC port 15 side with respect to relays 16-1 and 16-2 of thequick-charging lines makes it possible to block the noise from flowinginto Y capacitors 17 during normal charging, thus avoiding the increaseof the total electrostatic capacitance of the Y capacitors, to therebyavoid the possibility of an electric shock.

Note that, the description has been given with the Y capacitors eachserving as a capacitor to be connected to the quick-charging line in thepresent embodiment, but an X capacitor, a coil, a ferrite, or the likemay be used in place of the Y capacitor as a countermeasure againstnoise. Further, the number of Y capacitors to be connected to thequick-charging lines may be one.

In addition, the present embodiment has been described with theassumption that DC/DC converter 18 and air-conditioning compressor 19which become noise sources that generate noise when they operate duringquick charging are also included in charging apparatus 1, but thesenoise sources need not be included in charging apparatus 1.

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-122988, filed onJun. 11, 2013, including the specification, drawing and abstract, isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The charging apparatus and vehicle according to the present inventionare applicable to automobiles that run on electricity, such as an EV anda PHEV.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 Charging apparatus-   10 AC power source-   11 Bridge circuit-   12 Transformer-   13 AC/DC converter-   14, 17 Y capacitor-   15 QC port-   16-1, 16-2 Relay-   18 DC/DC converter-   19 Air-conditioning compressor-   20 Quick-charging system-   30 Onboard battery

1. A charging apparatus comprising: a first line for supplyingdirect-current power supplied from an external direct-current powersource to a battery, the first line having one end being electricallyconnected to a second line electrically connecting the battery and acomponent which becomes a noise source when the component operatesduring charging from the external direct-current power source to thebattery, and having the other end being electrically connected to theexternal direct-current power source; and a first noise filter that isdisposed on the first line, wherein the second line is electricallyconnected to one end of a third line having the other end beingelectrically connected to an external alternating-current power source,and the third line is provided with an AC/DC converter and a secondnoise filter, the second noise filter being disposed on the externalalternating-current power source side with respect to the AC/DCconverter of the third line.
 2. The charging apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the first line is a quick-charging line.
 3. Thecharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third line is anormal charging line.
 4. The charging apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the first noise filter is a Y capacitor.
 5. The chargingapparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second noise filter is a Ycapacitor.
 6. The charging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein theAC/DC converter comprises a transformer.
 7. The charging apparatusaccording to claim 6, further comprising: a relay that is disposed onthe first line and switches on and off a current flowing through thefirst line, wherein the first noise filter is disposed on the externaldirect-current power source side with respect to the relay, the firstnoise filter is connected to the vehicle body ground at a neutral pointand reduces noise from the noise source to a certain current value orlower and causes the noise to flow to the vehicle body ground, thesecond noise filter is grounded to the vehicle body ground at a neutralpoint and reduce noise that flows into the external alternating-currentpower source from the AC/DC converter to a certain current value orlower and causes the noise to flow to the vehicle body ground, and therelay is switched on during power supply from the externaldirect-current power source to the battery, and is switched off duringpower supply from the external alternating-current power source to thebattery.
 8. The charging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein thenoise source comprises a DC/DC converter and an air conditioningcompressor.
 9. A vehicle comprising: a first line for supplyingdirect-current power supplied from a external direct-current powersource to a battery, the first line having one end being electricallyconnected to a second line electrically connecting the battery and acomponent which becomes a noise source when the component operatesduring charging form the external direct-current power source to thebattery, and having the other end being electrically connected to theexternal direct-current power source; and a first noise filter that isdisposed on the first line, wherein the second line is electricallyconnected to one end of a third line having the other end beingelectrically connected to an external alternating-current power source,and the third line is provided with an AC/DC converter and a secondnoise filter, the second noise filter being disposed on the externalalternating-current power source side with respect to the AC/DCconverter of the third line:
 10. The vehicle according to claim 9,wherein the first noise filter is a Y capacitor.
 11. The vehicleaccording to claim 10, wherein the second noise filter is a Y capacitor.12. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the AC/DC convertercomprises a transformer.
 13. The vehicle according to claim 12, furthercomprising: a relay that is disposed on the first line and switches onand off a current flowing through the first line, wherein the firstnoise filter is disposed on the external direct-current power sourceside with respect to the relay, the first noise filter is connected tothe vehicle body ground at a neutral point and reduces noise from thenoise source to a certain current value or lower and causes the noise toflow to the vehicle body ground, the second noise filter is grounded tothe vehicle body ground at a neutral point and reduce noise that flowsinto the external alternating-current power source from the AC/DCconverter to a certain current value or lower and causes the noise toflow to the vehicle body ground, and the relay is switched on duringpower supply from the external direct-current power source to thebattery, and is switched off during power supply from the externalalternating-current power source to the battery.
 14. The chargingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first noise filter is an Xcapacitor.
 15. The charging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thefirst noise filter is a coil.
 16. The charging apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the first noise filter is a ferrite.
 17. The vehicleaccording to claim 9, wherein the first noise filter is an X capacitor.18. The vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the first noise filter isa coil.
 19. The vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the first noisefilter is a ferrite.